


Letters To Eebor

by NotARealGeek



Series: This Wide Land [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Companion Piece, Dwarvish Customs, Gen, Letters, gratuitous politics, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 02:57:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12334077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotARealGeek/pseuds/NotARealGeek
Summary: In any sort of official journey, there needs to be some form of communication with the relevant authorities. Only, this authority has the right and privilege of being able to call her brother and sons idiots...





	Letters To Eebor

His Royal Highness, Prince in absentia, Kili to Her Royal Majesty, Queen Reagent in absentia, Dis Stronghammer

 

Amad,

So far the quest to retake Erebor has gone well. Almost nobody has been injured, and the burglar has almost fully recovered. Fee and I drew straws to see who would write to you first, and I won. He’s out in the forges helping Uncle Thorin prepare something for the hobbit.

Speaking of the Hobbit, I have something very important to tell you. I have a sister! Before you scold me, I asked if I could tell you about her, and she said yes. Her use name is Belladonna, but Fee and I call her Bell. I think Uncle Thorin is having trouble getting used to her. Hobbits are strange folk, Amad. She eats seven meals a day! And she had never held a sword before the quest. Gandalf says she is an excellent burglar, however. She saved us from trolls! And she picked Nori’s pocket, which I didn’t think could be done. 

Ori said to tell you that the first half of the official quest documentation is waiting in Rivendell for an appropriate bird. Lord Elrond says that the pigeons can only take so much each trip. Elves are very pretty, Amad. Also very nice to Bella, who fainted when we arrived. Lord Elrond knew her mother, I think?

I love you Amad!

Kili

 

His Royal Highness, Crown Prince in absentia, Fili to Her Royal Majesty, Queen Reagent in absentia, Dis Stronghammer

 

Amad,

Sorry. I can’t even blame Kili for this one. Uncle is well, and so are Kee and I. Will send more letters when we reach the mountain.

Love,

Fili

 

His Royal Majesty, King Under the Mountain in absentia, Thorin Oakenshield to Her Royal Majesty, Queen Reagent in absentia, Dis Stronghammer

 

Dis,

I know we fought before I left, and you won’t be expecting to hear this, but you were right. Accepting help from outsiders is clever, when one wishes to retake a mountain. Rivendell, the Last Homely House, is a kingdom (lordship, perhaps?) of elves, and I have discovered some troubling news. When our grandfather traveled to Moria, the elves offered aid in the form of healers and supplies. I have read his reply, and Dis, it is shocking. Our burglar, Belladonna Baggins, has transcribed the letters to and from Lord Elrond in their complete form. She also included a transcript of the elvish council minutes from when the first offer was sent, and when the reply came. I did not then see how deep in madness the King had sunk.

I am sorry, Dis. Sorry Vili did not see the healers of elves, when it may well have saved his life. Your sons have been most helpful with the elves. It seems the elven people have even fewer children than we do, so to have two young dwarves like our princes here has shaken a few things up. Kili has attached himself to the lord’s sons. It seems they are masters of the bow, and have been discussing techniques with Kili for the past day. We are to be here in Rivendell until the day after Midsummer, when Tharkun is attending a council. It is partially to give rest to the company, especially the burglar, and partially because there are strange runes on a map the wizard gave me. 

The Burglar. Mahal, where to start. Dis, she spent the first part of our journey pretending to be a male because Tharkun told her (him?) that that was how we do these things. I was horrified Dis. Forcing a female to do such a thing. She is a hobbit, however, so I do not know if they do things differently in the shire. Hobbits! Mahal, the children of Yavanna are more than strange. Imagine, if you will, a race whose very being seems devoted to the production and consumption of food.  _ Then _ imagine that they deny themselves no comforts, and live a cozy and padded life under the hills in the green lands. This is the race of the woman Tharkun chose as our burglar, and she came with us! She left her home, with nothing but a distant promise of gold to hold her through the journey. I do not understand it. She is an endlessly frustrating creature.

I must go now, Dis. I look forward to seeing you, when we meet again in the halls of Erebor.

Your affectionate brother,

Thorin Oakenshield.

 

Her Grace, Halfling Princess of Arnor Belladonna Hyacinth Baggins, Manach, First Among Equals, and Official Burglar for the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, to Her Royal Majesty, Queen Reagent in absentia, Dis Stronghammer 

 

Your Majesty,

His Majesty King Thorin requested that I spend some of my time abed transcribing and translating the documents pertaining to the offer from elves to dwarves; to whit, supplies from Rivendell to the battle of Moria and the services of healers in trade for the services of weaponsmiths to outfit the family of Lord Elrond in mithril. Also included in the documentation is the response from His Royal Majesty Thrain, King Under the Mountain in absentia; containing a direct refusal, and language I have never before seen used in a royal document. Or any kind of official document.

His Grace Lord Elrond requested I also send a copy of the minutes from the council meeting directly relating to the offer, both before the first letter and after receiving King Thrain’s response. Included are the minutes in original Sindarin and my own translation into Westron. Another request from Lord Elrond, as no doubt King Thorin has told you, is that trade routes from the Blue Mountains to Rivendell be opened and a trade agreement reached, regardless of the fate of Erebor. Lord Elrond has offered the following;

  1. Foodstuffs 
    1. Smoked and preserved meats and fish
    2. Preserved fruits and vegetables
    3. Flour
    4. Wine
    5. Any produce that would take the travel from Rivendell to Ered Luin
  2. Healing
    1. Healers to be sent to Ered Luin as a posting
    2. Teaching in Rivendell
    3. Herbs and treatments
  3. Safe passage through the Misty Mountains should Erebor be recovered 
    1. Elven guards along an established route through the mountains near Rivendell
    2. Elven guides and guards to accompany any caravan
    3. Aid in routing a portion of the goblins from the mountains



In return he requests the following;

  1. Metalwork
    1. Finished work, as ordered
    2. Smiths to reside in Rivendell
    3. Teaching of elves
  2. Brocade
    1. Finished clothing
    2. Bolts of fabric
    3. Teaching of elves
  3. Free and open knowledge traded between Rivendell and Ered Luin, within cultural bounds
    1. No request is to be made to learn Khuzdul by Lord Elrond or any elf
    2. Apprenticeship of elves to dwarves and vice versa
    3. Copies of the books contained in Ered Luin not bound by cultural or religious strictures.



In my humble opinion, one could request the following from the elves;

  1. Leatherwork
    1. Tools to create dwarven work, and
    2. Elvish designs in light armor and footwear
  2. Scribework
    1. Tools
    2. Histories of Middle Earth
    3. Teaching in Sindarin and other languages
    4. Parchment



Perhaps, as the shire is bountiful in harvest most years, one could arrange the caravan to stop in Michel Delwing or Bree. Hobbits do not have much by way of metalwork and are largely isolated. A decent showing of the kind I know dwarves are wont to do would be greatly to your advantage. Hobbits are fond of gardening and sewing, along with crafts and baking. This would allow you to remove the trade of foodstuffs from the above list, and give some room for negotiation to your people. 

Your most humble and obedient servant,

Belladonna Baggins

 

P.S. I do hope you aren’t too upset with Fili and Kili for adopting me. They were quite kind and saved my life more than once. -Bella


End file.
